Bogs, Brews, and Banshees
by Rowan Dillon
Series: Skye O’Shea Paranormal Cozy Mysteries, #1
Genres: Mystery, Paranormal
Release Date: March 15, 2024
Pages: 266
Get from: Library | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Books
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Review
NOTE: This review is based on an eBook I borrowed from Amazon as part of the Kindle Unlimited program.
There are **SPOILERS** in this review.
Bogs, Brews, and Banshees was an interesting series starter. Throughout the story, you’re led down the path of “yes, all Irish ‘Fair Folk’ exist,” only to think it’s only humans after all when the mystery is solved. Then, you get a bit of mental whiplash with the ending that confirms there will, indeed, be all of the paranormal creatures in this series.
Skye is a decent main character, though I got tired of the reminders that she wouldn’t be bullied and that she didn’t need men. I would have preferred that we were given those frequent reminders in some other form than narrative lines that only slightly differ from each other. Maybe mantras she repeats, like “you’re strong,” “you don’t cower,” etc.
Adanna, the main supporting character has a lot of secrets, or, at least, things she prefers to keep private for one reason or another. I’m curious to learn what her powers/abilities are. I also want to know the history between her husband, Guarda (policeman) Dónal McCarthy and Sky O’Shea’s family. His behavior is highly unprofessional throughout most of the book, seemingly because of who Skye is related to.
Cormac O’Leary, the other pub owner, is set up as the potential bad guy, only for us to find out that he’s at least as much bark as bite, if not more.
The last major player is Gerald, the culprit. For a while, I was convinced he wasn’t real, only to find out that he’s the one behind basically everything. There is one odd thing, though. Multiple times, the author switches between Skye knowing Gerald’s name and no knowing it. It happened so much that I thought there was an additional character I’d missed. I don’t know if this is a situation where the author changed her mind about this detail and didn’t fix it everywhere, or just general mistakes.
Overall, though, I look forward to reading more of this series.
Notable Quotes
Chapter 2: I’d always loved anything to do with bees… They were supposed to be a symbol of abundance and kindness.
Chapter 12: “Graveyard walls aren’t there to keep people out, Skye.”
Have you read Bogs, Brews, and Banshees? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
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